Contents

Imprisoned by the Imperial forces, confronted by two very violent, very massive creatures known as Yuzzem, Luke and Leia have only one hope of escape: the Mimban Crystal, capable of giving its wielder total, omnipotent mastery of the Force. But Luke's use of the crystal could draw the unwelcome attention of certain … dark powers.

"Maybe he'll be generous. Good workers are tough to get here. He may leave you most of your fingers…"

―A stormtrooper, regarding Captain-Supervisor Grammel.[src]

Luke Skywalker, and his sister Leia and their assailants are arrested by Imperialstormtroopers for the crime of "fighting with weaponry in a public place". Luke and Leia are taken directly to Captain-SupervisorGrammel, who believes them to be common criminals but suspects them to be something more after being informed of the mysterious shard of crystal that Luke was given by Halla.

While Luke and Leia are assigned to a cell containing two Yuzzem, Grammel, intrigued by the shard contacts the regional governor, Bin Essada, who is known for his knowledge of radiant stones. When Essada sees the pictures of the two "petty criminals" caught in possession of the gemstone, he recognizes the female and orders Grammel to hold them in custody unharmed until the "proper authority" arrives on Mimban to collect them.

Luke, Leia and the two Yuzzem stage a daring escape from the Imperial prison and then meet up with Halla and the droids to steal a swamp crawler that they plan to use to reach the Temple of Pomojema—and the Kaiburr crystal. However, a hungry wandrella has other plans for them…

The comic adaptation of Splinter of the Mind's Eye remained fairly faithful to its source material. Because of the requirements of the format and the fact that there was a limited amount of space to tell the story, a number of elements were either altered or completely omitted, however. Some of the departures from the book included:

In the book, the sergeant who commands the stormtroopers who break up the fight between Luke, Leia and the miners is distinguished by a series of three angular marks on his helmet and his armored sleeve.[2] In the comic he bears no markings resembling those described in the book. Instead, he wears an orange pauldron.[3]

In the book, as Luke and Leia are escorted to an imposing-looking zyggurat, Luke asks Leia where they are going. Leia responds that they are going to the prison and Luke says that he's impressed.[4] In the comic, the dialogue of this exchange is nearly the same, but Luke's question is answered by the sergeant instead of Leia.[3]

Grammel's office is described as being luxuriously furnished in the book.[5] In the comic, the office is sparsely furnished with equipment to one side of Grammel's desk and a number of power lines dangling from the ceiling.[6]

In the book, Luke has kept the Kaiburr crystal shard inside the small lockbox that Halla originally had it in. After Luke gives the box with the shard inside to Grammel, Grammel asks Luke for the combination—which Luke doesn't know.[7] In the comic, Luke appears to not have kept the shard inside the lockbox. When he decides to give Grammel the shard, he simply gives the shard to Grammel.[8]

The screen with which Grammel contacts Bin Essada in the book is hidden within the wall behind his desk.[9] In the comic, the screen is contained within the desk.[10]

In order to show Essada the images of Luke and Leia that his recording rod captured, Grammel holds the instrument before the vis pickup on his end in the book.[11] The way in which Essada is allowed to see the images in the comic is apparently achieved by a different, but unknown method, given that the images of Luke and Leia are shown independently of Grammel's on Essada's end of the transmission.[12]

The only indications that Essada will contact Darth Vader are an ambiguous reference by Essada to an "interested party", which was not meant to be heard by Grammel, and Grammel's reference to an "Imperial representative" when he talks to Luke and Leia in their cell.[13][14] The comic makes this less ambiguous by showing Essada contacting Vader with his news after finishing his conversation with Grammel.[12]

In the book, shortly after he escapes from the prison with the others in the mud crawler, Luke charges his lightsaber with the blaster that he used during the prison break.[15] In the comic, Luke is shown doing this seven days after the prison escape, shortly before the wandrella attack.[16]

In the book, Grammel's doctor tells him that he will never sweat from his rebuilt arm.[17] In the comic, she adds that his hair will never grow back.[18]

During the wandrella attack in the book, Hin and Kee attack the wandrella with a pair of blaster rifles that they had appropriated from the swamp crawler's storage space.[19] In the comic, the two Yuzzem use a mounted turret that is never present in the book's description of the swamp crawler.[20]